How to Save A Country
by HardWrapping
Summary: Strange new visitors arrive in the Barbaric Archipelago with an offer of peace. When the Tribe leaders vote to send Hiccup as an ambassador on the Vikings behalf, he finds himself entering the strange land of the USA. But someone behind the scenes seems intent on ruining any chances of peace. Can Hiccup find out whose behind this and stop them? Same AU as Fight for the Future'.
1. Strangers

It had been a year since he'd taken over as Chief, and in that time he had been through many trials that had tested his leadership. There had been plenty of problems to deal with before, but since becoming chief it seemed these problems had nearly tripled. Luckily he had people around to lighten the load.

His mother was always there for him of course, offering helpful advice to any dragon related problems. Valka knew dozens of secrets about dragons that made dealing with them far easier than before. Astrid, his soon to be wife, offered him any help she could. He was still convinced she would have made a better chief than he was, though she told him otherwise.

Fishlegs had become his advisor, there was no one else on the island who was more suited for the job than he was. Snotlout had become his second in command. When it came to battle tactics, or just battle in general, he couldn't really seem to think of anyone else who fit the roll.

Since most of the gang was pretty busy with their new rolls, the twins were typically the ones left with training the new recruits at the academy with his mother. They were… surprisingly good at it. Hiccup had even considered letting them work there full time. Even Eret had volunteered to help out. Mostly by smoothing over relations with neighboring tribes.

Oh, and of course he couldn't forget his best friend Toothless. The new Alpha had been with him every step of the way. With Hiccup being chief, and Toothless being the one who led the dragons, it was as if they walked through every trial together.

Even the people of Berk had done their best to give him their support. Because of everyone's help, the job went from completely overwhelming, to tough but doable. Slowly but surely he was able to start getting into the swing of things. But, that still didn't mean he didn't have his fair share of trouble to deal with.

"Hiccup, some of the younger riders need saddles."

"I'll have Gobber start working on them as soon as he can." Hiccup said as he made his way towards the academy.

"Chief, there's a Whispering Death digging tunnels west of the village."

"Send Gustav to deal with it. He's had enough experience with boulder class dragons be able to handle something like this." Hiccup instructed.

"Hiccup, there have been Berserker ships spotted nearby. What should we do?"

"Let's not jump to any conclusions. As far as we know the alliance still holds. But tell Snotlout to be weary, just in case."

By the time he actually made it to the academy, he'd just about handled seven or eight complaints and problems. As he walked inside he saw a group of kids sitting down and looking towards Valka who was scratching a Deadly Nadder under the chin.

"Every dragon has their 'Sweet spot' as I like to call it. The Nadder's is right under the chin. Isn't it sweetie?" She asked as the Nadder purred softly. "It's good to know your dragon's sweet spot as well. Even the grumpiest dragons will melt in your hands with a good scratch."

One girl raised her hand. "What's Cloud Hopper's sweet spot?"

"That would be the back of the neck." The kids all ran over towards the Stormcutter who had been sleeping off to the side. He opened one eye when he heard the kids coming. He tried to run, but the kids had jumped all over him. The girls scratched him in the back of the neck, and he immediately softened.

Hiccup laughed as he approached his mother. "Glad to see the kids getting so into the lesson. You really are a great teacher mom. You make it look so easy."

She chuckled and looked towards the students. "I wish it was easy. Those kids really know how to wear someone down. If it weren't for the twins I'd be completely overrun." She said wiping her forehead. "So, I assume you're here looking for the bride to be?"

"Is she here?" Hiccup asked.

Valka pointed over towards the dens where the baby dragons were. Astrid was tossing fish into the middle of the groups, watching as the babies snapped and tore apart their meals. "You're a lucky one to find that girl Hiccup."

"I know." He said heading towards her.

Astrid sighed and reached down picking up a baby Nightmare. "If you don't stop picking on the others you're going into time out, got it?" The dragon snorted and tried to wiggle from her grasp. "Little troublemaker."

"Practicing your mothering skills I see." Hiccup said smirking.

She turned towards him and then smiled. "I figure I might as well get head start. By this time next week we'll be up to some baby making." She said winking at him.

Hiccup felt his cheeks turn red. Whether it was all the work he had around the village, or just plain ignorance, he hadn't really thought about any of the things that would happen after the wedding. Now his thoughts were in overdrive.

What if he wasn't any good at it? What if Astrid got pregnant? He wasn't ready to become a dad! He already had enough on his plate. "Hiccup!" Astrid said snapping her finger. "Take a deep breath and calm down, it was just a joke." She assured.

He laughed nervously. "I… I knew that."

She rolled her eyes. "Sure you did. Look, you've been holding it together pretty well lately, but I can tell you're still nervous. You shouldn't be though, things have been going great lately. We've made peace with most of the tribes, we have peace with the dragons, and we're going to be married soon."

He nodded. "Yeah. I just can't shake the feeling that something bad might happen. The calm before the storm and all that." He said rubbing the back of his head. "You know what, forget about it. I didn't come here to mope, I came here to see my fiancée."

Astrid wrapped her arms around his neck. "Just to see little ole me?"

"Of course milady." He said giving her a kiss. The kiss deepened and soon the two seemed to be in their own little world.

Valka who was standing nearby smiled sweetly. "Oh, that's just so romantic. You two remind me of your father and me when we were that age." She said snapping the two back to reality.

Hiccup took a step back. He had forgotten that not only his mother, but a group of children were also present. "Ahem, yeah. I also came by to see if-"

He was interrupted when a large black figure pounced on him from behind. He struggled to push Toothless off of him as the dragon began licking him all over. "Ah! Toothless, c'mon! You're gonna ruin my new flight suit!" He said laughing.

Toothless jumped off and then stood over him excitedly. "He was helping me get a wrangle on these little devils." Astrid explained as the Nightmare from earlier tried to snap at her hair. "You got one more time to snap at me!"

"We should call him Snapper." Hiccup joked.

"Not a bad name actually."

"Chief Hiccup!" They turned towards the gate and saw Gustav rushing in on Fanghook. He looked around until he spotted Hiccup. "Hiccup! Hiccup there's an emergency!"

Hiccup raised his eyebrow. "Gustav, aren't you supposed to be dealing with-"

"I was, I swear! But this is more important! You need to get to the docks now! Snotlout says this could be real trouble!" Gustav said worriedly.

Hiccup's face grew serious. As second in command Snotlout took his job protecting the village pretty seriously, but he was usually to prideful to come to Hiccup for help. Unless it was an absolutely dire situation, he usually handled it himself. "C'mon bud."

He jumped on Toothless' back and the two quickly made their way to the docks. Astrid, Valka, and Gustav quickly made their way after him. It only took half a minute for him to get to the docks to see Snotlout standing there and looking out towards the sea. "What's wrong?!"

Snotlout scowled. "There's a ship out there…"

"Snotlout, you called me for a ship? A single ship? You didn't even call me when there were five Berserker ships lurking around last week." Hiccup said a little irked.

"It's not a Berserker ship." Snotlout said narrowing his eyes. "It's not a ship from any tribe I've ever seen. The scouts said it was… it was made of metal. All metal."

Hiccup looked confused. "A ship made completely out of of metal? That's impossible." Putting aside the fact that something like that might not even float, how in the world someone would be able to gather all that metal and shape it into a ship was beyond him.

"Well we're gonna find out soon. It's heading this way."

Hiccup looked worried. A random ship made of metal heading towards them? This probably wouldn't bode well. He knew he couldn't jumped to conclusions however. He needed to find out if these new… whoever they were, were friend or foe.

"I'll be right back."

Snotlout grabbed his shoulder. "Hold on a second! You're the chief, someone else should go check it out! Let me go instead."

"Yeah, not gonna do that." He reached over and raised his hand above the Nightmare's snout. The dragon grew wide eyed for a second, before falling on the ground unconscious.

"Hey!" Snotlout said angrily.

Toothless flew up and sped into the air. Snotlout growled, and then turned around just time to see Astrid and Valka approaching. "Where is he going?" Astrid asked.

Snotlout grunted. "First of all, aunt Valka, you need to teach me that thing where you knock out dragons without touching them! And second, he's heading out towards that mystery ship!" He said pointing towards the speck in the far distance. "And yes, I tried to stop him!" He said pointing down to the unconscious Hookfang.

"We'll get him." Astrid said speeding after him. Valka was right behind her.

Hiccup made his way towards the ship and was astonished at the shear size of the thing. It was massive. There seemed to be some kind of metal weapons mounted on it as well. And just as Snotlout had said, it was completely made of metal. "Odin's beard…"

He could see people on the ship, all dressed in strange clothing. They were looking up at him with a mixture of shock and amazement… and a bit of fear. "Hiccup!" Valka and Astrid made their way towards him, anger written all over their faces.

"Astrid, mom, stay back. We don't know if-"

"That's exactly why we're here! You're the chief, you of all people shouldn't be wandering towards some mysterious ship! At least not alone! What if they had just decided to shoot you out of the sky?!" Astrid said angrily.

"Look, I get why you're mad and you can nag me later, but this could get messy, so just stay up here while I-"

"You're not going anywhere without me!" She said glaring at him. Hiccup knew that look. It was the look that she always gave him when he tried to leave her out of things. He knew Astrid was a capable warrior, but he still worried about her. There were times when he'd wish she'd just hang back and let him handle it.

But, it just wasn't in her nature. And honestly it was one of the reasons he loved her so much. Still, he wasn't willing to take any chances on this. "Okay, hate to pull the Chief rank, but I'm ordering you to-"

Astrid grew wide eyed. "Finish that sentence, I dare you." She said dangerously.

Valka snorted. "Chief or not, you don't get to pull rank on your mother. And you most certainly don't get to pull it on your wife." She said crossing her arms.

Hiccup looked back and forth between the two. Why was it that Haddock men seemed to have a thing for stubborn women? "Okay, Astrid, come with me. We'll go down, slowly, and see if their friendly or not. Mom, please just stay here and keep a look out. If they try anything with those weapons, take them out."

"Got it." Astrid said nodding.

"Be careful." His mother warned.

Hiccup and Astrid flew downwards towards the ship, and while the men on board seemed nervous and weary, they didn't make a move. As they landed down some of the men began crowding around them. Astrid instinctively grabbed her axe. "Astrid, don't. Peaceful, remember?"

Astrid grunted. She could see them with their hands on some kind of weird looking weapons on their waist. "I drop mines when they drop theirs." She muttered.

"They haven't attacked us, I don't think-"

"They still might." She said simply.

Before he could whisper for her to stop being so stubborn, one of the men stepped forward. He was wearing all black fabric, had strange looking black lens covering his eyes. He had shaggy black hair, and looked like he was in his mid-twenties. The thing that stood out the most to Hiccup however, was the Terrible Terror on his shoulder. "For god's sake, stand down you idiots. Can't you see you're making them nervous?" The man said.

The men around him all looked back and forth at one another before taking their hands off their weapons. The man walked up to Hiccup, seemingly unintimidated by Toothless growl. "Wow, so this is the… the Nightfury, right? Supposedly one of the baddest dragons there is." He said smiling. "Which would make you, Hiccup Haddock."

Hiccup raised his eyebrow. He knew that he had a bit of a reputation, but these people clearly weren't from around here. It was unclear just how much this person should know about him. "I am. And you are?"

"My name is Ned Reach, and I must say it's an honor to meet you." He said holding out his hand. Hiccup looked at him cautiously, but then shook his hand. Ned then turned to Astrid. "I guess that would make you Astrid, the bride to be."

Hiccup gripped his hand tighter. "How much do you know?"

Ned chuckled. "Just rumors I've heard among the others tribes I've visited today. Your friends in the alliance have some pretty gossipy soldiers." He said smiling. "Seriously though, they speak as if you're a legend. I had to meet you myself." He pointed to Toothless. "May I?"

Hiccup looked suspicious, but then patted Toothless on the head. The dragon growled but allowed the man to run a hand across his skin. "Man, he was cool from a distance, but he looks even more awesome up close." Toothless seemed to soften a bit at the praise.

He turned to Stormfly and reached to touch her, but Astrid grabbed his wrist. "Don't touch my dragon." She deadpanned.

The terror on his shoulder hissed at her. "Bile, behave yourself." Ned scolded.

"Who are you?" Astrid asked frankly.

Hiccup gave her a look, but Ned held his hand up. "No, it's fine. Straight to the point, I respect that. Let me just make it clear right now that I am not your enemy. In fact, I've been sent here to ensure that we don't get off on the wrong foot."

"And who is we?" Hiccup asked.

"The people that I work for. As you may have already guessed, I'm not from around here. I come from a land far from here, called America." He explained. "I'd love to go into detail somewhere more… private. Would your island be fine?"

Hiccup glanced back towards the island and then back at him. "Just you?"

Ned took off the plastic from over his eyes showing a pair of brown eyes. He removed his jacket revealing a white shirt and a piece of cloth tied around his neck. He pulled out two silver items that looked like weapons, and then dropped them on the ground. "Just me, unarmed."

The Terror flew off his shoulder and hovered in front of Toothless. The two seemed to be going back and forth with one another, and then Toothless looked up at Hiccup and snorted. "Well, Toothless seemed to vouch for you…" Hiccup said. "I've never been one to turn down peace treaties, so I'm willing to listen to what you have to say."

"Wonderful. Would you mind giving me a ride back, or should I take a boat?" He asked.

Stormfly stepped forward. "You can ride with us." Astrid said. She didn't want him riding with Hiccup, just in case he was concealing any other weapons on him.

"Thank you." He said climbing onto Stormfly's back. The terror on his shoulder crawled forward and began snapping at Astrid's hair. She sighed as Ned looked panicked. He quickly grabbed the dragon and pulled him back. Astrid seemed irritated enough of him already. "Bile! I am so sorry about that!"

Astrid just sighed. "It's fine. Not the first dragon that's been snapping at me today…" She muttered. "Let's just go."

Hiccup and the rest of the group sat in the middle of the great hall. Ned seemed fairly relaxed for a guy who was surrounded by total strangers. He seemed even more comfortable around the dragons. His Terror, Bile, was sitting in his lap laying peacefully.

The group all regarded Ned in different ways. Fishlegs seemed interested in the stranger. He was dressed so radically different, he wondered just what type of place this person came from. Ruff and Tuff eyed him curiously. The stranger was relaxed, but they could sense something about him was off. Like even without weapons, he was still dangerous.

Snotlout didn't even bother trying to hide his irritation with the stranger. The only thing he was concerned about was that huge battleship out there. Valka seemed to be a little laid back around him. Her women's intuition told her this stranger was telling the truth.

"I gotta say, this really is something. The Burglars told me about you all. The legendary six riders who slayed the Red Death. And of course the mother of dragons herself." He complimented.

"Yeah, we are pretty awesome aren't we?" Tuff said flexing his arm.

"Alright Mystery man. Start talking." Snotlout said.

Hiccup sighed. "What my cousin means to ask is, how did you find this place?"

"I guess I should start from the beginning." Ned said leaning back in his chair. "A few months ago a member of the Bog Burglar tribe was stranded at sea. She survived long enough to be picked up by cruise ship, and was rushed to the closest hospital, that's a place where we tend to peoples wounds and sicknesses."

Hiccup and Astrid shared a glance. They would have to ask Camicazi about this to confirm his story. "Unfortunately by the end of the week she ended up succumbing to her wounds."

Snotlout narrowed his eyes at him. "How do we know that you didn't just kill her?"

"Because this is the woman's, Vomit's, dragon." Ned said. They all looked surprised, and Bile whimpered and looked saddened. "My job usually doesn't let me get sentimentally involved with anyone, but she knew she wasn't going to be around much longer and asked me to take care of him. I'm not cold enough to deny someone a dying wish." He said petting his snout.

"Vomit? That was Camiczai's second in command wasn't it?" Tuffnut said. "Aw man, that sucks. She was a great drinking buddy."

"We'll have to send our condolences." Hiccup said sadly. "Please, go on."

Ned sighed. "Needless to say we didn't believe her when she started going on about dragons, but when Bile as well as another dragon from a separate incident appeared, well, we really couldn't deny it. She asked that her body be brought back as well, and told us where to find this place. I'm amazed she was able to point us in the right direction, given her poor state."

"When we came here we were amazed that there were Vikings still around. Of course around here they seem to be plentiful, but in our part of the world they're practically myths. And dragons, well, no one even imagined they ever existed, let alone still lived to this day."

Hiccup smirked. "Well, here we are."

"History is filled with bloodbaths caused by different cultures clashing, and I'm quite ashamed to say that my country has had a large part in many of those clashes. But as I said earlier, the goal here is peace. So we're trying to approach this matter as delicately as possible."

Hiccup rubbed his chin. Ned seemed sincere enough. New lands would mean new allies, trades, and resources. And it wasn't as if he wanted a bloodbath on his hands, that wouldn't work out for either side. "What is it that I can do to help?" He asked.

"Well, aside from a few high ranking officials, no one really knows about your existence. Our plan to introduce you to our people and show them you're no threat, and want peace just as equally as we do. Do you have an ambassador or anyone of high rank that would be willing to come back home with us, and represent your people?"

Astrid cut in. "We don't really have any official ambassadors. We have people who help with relations between other tribes. But I don't think just sending any one of them will do. It would have to be someone that all of the tribe leaders will agree on."

"That's exactly what the other tribe leaders told me. Well, it's what most of them told me anyway. I tried to get in contact with the leader of the Berserker tribe, but… it got very ugly very quickly. I can't see them speaking very highly of us in the future."

"Making a totally unprovoked attack against a group of people who you don't even know. That totally seems like something Dagur would do." Fishlegs said.

Hiccup stood up. "I have no doubt that there will be a meeting called tonight between the chiefs of the tribes. We'll go over your offer and make a decision, hopefully by tomorrow."

"Completely understandable."

"Until then, you and your men are welcomed to stay here." Hiccup offered.

"I'm flattered by your hospitality, but we wouldn't want to intrude. We have a lot of men and it wouldn't be polite to give you all those mouths to feed."

Hiccup nodded and then turned to Fishlegs. "You mind giving him a ride back to his ship?" The blonde nodded and began heading to the door.

"Also, would you mind moving that big metal ship a little further out? You're kind of scaring the crap out of the villagers, and they complain about it… to me." Snotlout said frowning.

"Will do." Ned followed him, but then stopped and turned back around. "Hold on a second. I nearly forgot the gifts." He said reaching up his shirt sleeve. Everyone seemed to grow tense, and Astrid began reaching for her axe. He held his hand up. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, relax. It's just chocolate."

They watched as he pulled out six bars wrapped in paper. They looked at the items curiously. "Chocolate?" Hiccup said raising his eyebrow.

"It's a special type of food from my home. It's very sweet tasting. Also…" He unwrapped one of the bars and broke a piece off before eating it. "Thuggory was worried I poisoned them or something and made me take a bite. Just figured I'd save you some time… and I also love chocolate."

"Um… thanks." Hiccup said.

"Think of it also as an early wedding gift. And trust me, I'm not overselling it. It's worth it." He said before turning and walking out.

The second he left the twins walked over and broke one of the bars in half. "Seriously guys? After that whole conversation, one that could shape our very way of life, the first thing you're going to do is eat?" Astrid said shaking her head.

"Odin, this stuff is good!" Tuff said.

"This is serious!" Snotlout said annoyed.

"No, seriously, you gotta try this!" Ruff said turning towards him. She stuck some of the chocolate in his mouth before he could argue. He was about to spit it out, when suddenly his expression changed. "Good right?"

"It's… okay."

Hiccup turned towards Valka. "What do you think?"

Valka looked up in thought. "From what you told me, his men reacted very strangely to the dragons. But Ned himself seemed awfully comfortable with that Terror. I think his story is the truth. As to whether we can trust his claims of peace or not… I'm not sure."

"I think he's legit." Astrid said. "Why else would he risk walking right into enemy territory with no weapons or back up?"

"That ambassador story could be a trick though. To try and get a high ranking member to go along with them, and then have a hostage." Snotlout said. He turned back to the table. "Give me some more of that chocolate."

"No way! You said you didn't like it!" Ruff said frowning.

"I didn't say that! Give it here!" He said going after her.

Hiccup sighed. "Anyway, I think he's telling the truth as well. But we'll just have to see what the other tribes think of this. Then we'll see where it goes."

Astrid nodded in agreement. "Sounds like the wise decision." She took a piece of chocolate and then nibbled on it. "On my gods, this is good."

Valka raised her eyebrow. "Is it now?" She grabbed one and took a bite. "Wha- heavens! This is delicious! Hiccup, try this!"

Hiccup looked hesitant, but ate when Astrid held a piece towards him. He let the sweet flavor sink into his mouth for a moment and then smiled. "Mm. If they offer more of this stuff we might have to make peace whether the other tribes agree or not."

* * *

 **A/N: Hello readers! This is a very important AN, and I need to address both old and new readers. My new readers first. This story is set in the same AU as my other story, 'Fight for the Future'. But there's no need to go back and read it just to keep up with this one. At the most there may be hints and eater eggs, but it'll still be easy to understand.**

 **To my old readers, good to see you again! I know it took a while to come out with this, but I had to readjust some things so it would fit along with Fight for The Future. This is the first story that connects with a past one, so I want to have as little continuity errors as possible.**

 **Anyway, thanks for reading. I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter. Remember to leave some reviews and tell me what you think!**

 **And even though this is a crossover, the main focus will be one the HTTYD side of things. Merida will appear, but not right away... or will she? Mwuhahaha!**


	2. Departure

A meeting of the tribe leaders always meant serious business. Whenever there was a dispute over territory, a scuffle between tribe members, or a need to dissuade war (which was often) a meeting was called. They used to hold them on an Island known as Skrill's Peak, but had to change after the Screaming Death had pretty much destroyed the land mass.

It had then been agreed upon that they would meet at 'Meeting Mound', a considerably smaller island Hiccup and the others had come across while going back and forth between Berk and Dragon's Edge. Its position was reasonably close enough for all of the tribe leaders to sail there. All of them took smaller ships, just so nobody could sneak in any troops for an ambush.

They were all allowed two guards with them. Hiccup almost always brought Snotlout and Fishlegs. The former because he was the second in command, and a great fighter. The latter because he was knowledgeable on both dragons and other tribes. Most of the others brought their second in commands as well, and depending on the situation an advisor or negotiator.

The boat hit the shore and Hiccup stood up and stretched his arms. "Uh, hate riding on those smalls boats. So slow, and cramped…" Part of the agreement was also that no Dragons were allowed. Some of the tribes still hadn't grown accustomed to them, and feared death from above from the scaly creatures.

Snotlout cracked his neck as he and Fishlegs stepped onto the beach. "Let's just get this over with. I hate these things. There so… formal." He grunted.

Hiccup rolled his eyes. There was hardly anything formal about these meetings. Things did get resolved for the most part, but there was a lot of yelling, shouting, and sometimes even fist fights. It was a wonder war hadn't broken out already. "This meeting is going to be different though." Fishlegs said.

"Different how?" Snotlout asked.

"This isn't just you're typical territory dispute. This is something… world changing. I mean, random people come from an unknown far away land with an offer of friendship. This could warp so much. We thought dragons becoming our allies was the most insane thing we'd see. But these people have tools and materials we've never even conceived were possible before."

Hiccup nodded. "On the other hand, we can't tell the real intent of these people. You know how stuck some of the other tribe leaders are in their traditions. If Camicazi hadn't taken over the Burglars they'd still be avoiding dragons." He said as they made their way into the cave. "It'll be a heated meeting this time around, that's for sure."

The next few minutes they walked in silence. When they got to the end of the tunnel they saw a large round table. The other leaders were all already sitting around it, each of their guards on their left and right. "Well well, look who decided to show up fashionably late, again."

Hiccup smirked towards Camicazi. They were some of the younger tribe leaders. And when you were surrounded by stubborn old geezers stuck in their old ways, it was nice to have some younger more relatable leaders to back you sometimes. "Well, you know me."

"We certainly do." Another of the younger leaders, Thuggory said. "Now that we're all assembled, can we get this meeting started? I think we all know the urgency of this matter." Everyone nodded in agreement as Hiccup took his seat. "The outsiders. Should we trust them?"

Mavrick, one of the older leaders, grunted. "I don't think so. Why should we bother giving these strangers a chance to stab us in the back?" He asked crossing his arms.

Strangle, the eldest tribe leader, stroked his beard. "Or maybe they are sincere." He pointed out. "If so, not only do we gain an ally against potential threats, but we have an opportunity to gain access to all sorts of new resources."

"But what if these people ARE a potential threat. I assumed they explained their idea to all of us. They want a representative from one of our tribes. Who's to say they won't kidnap said representative and use them as leverage?" Thuggory questioned.

"To try to use a representative from ONE of our tribes as leverage would be foolish. At most that would cause one tribe to hesitate. The rest of us wouldn't hesitate to go to war, and we know it." Camicazi said bluntly.

That was true enough. Alliance or not, not a single tribe would hesitate just because someone from another tribe was in danger. Not unless they had strong ties with said tribe, which few did. "I think we should take up their offer." Hiccup said.

"You would." Mavrick muttered.

"This isn't like dealing with the dragons Hiccup. These are not animals who can be tamed. Their people. People who clearly have their own agenda. We shouldn't just trust them blindly." Thuggory said. As friendly as he was with Hiccup, he had no qualms voicing his opinion.

"If these people are claiming to offer peace, we have a responsibility to our tribes to strive towards that peace." Hiccup said. "What if declining is seen as an insult? What if we lose out on valuable land and resources because we were too stubborn to accept this? If they really have ill intentions for us, then war is most likely be inevitable. But on the chance they're sincere, we should act now."

Mavrick scowled. "Okay, I can see your argument Haddock. But let's say we take them up on their offer. Who's going to represent us? It'd have to be someone influential. Not just some average village idiot. Sending one of our own could end up being like sending a yak to slaughter. So why should we risk one of our own tribesmen so-"

"I'll go." Hiccup said cutting him off. "That way there's no risk to any of the other tribes."

There was silence for a few moments, everyone musing over the idea. They knew he was right. Had this been a trap, then only Hiccup would be lost. It would be his tribe's problem to deal with, not theirs. If it wasn't, then he was the best person to send anyway. His diplomatic skills were the best among them. He'd been a big part in putting together these meetings to begin with.

Strangle nodded. "If young Haddock agrees to it, then I have no qualms. Young as he may be, he has shown wise judgement in the past. I will follow his lead."

"While I don't have this old coot's faith in our young volunteer here, there's no risk to my tribe, so I'm not going to argue." Mavrick said.

"You're the most diplomatic here. Obvious choice." Camicazi agreed.

Thuggory nodded. "If everyone is agreement then I don't see any reason to argue. Good luck my friend."

"I suppose we're all in agreement then?"

"I have no arguments."

"The lava louts agree."

The other tribe chiefs all gave their agreement. So long as they weren't at risk, they didn't really care. "Alright then, good luck to you Haddock… I don't mean the diplomatic mission, I mean explaining it to Astrid." Camicazi said smirking. Hiccup grew wide eyed. He'd forgotten about that. He hadn't told Astrid about this because… well, he just thought of it now.

It wasn't the whole doing something dangerous thing she'd be mad about. But it'd be the volunteering without speaking with her. Snotlout and Thuggory both covered their mouths to keep from bursting out with laughter. Even the other Tribe leaders were wearing good natured smirks on their faces. Tribe leaders or not, the majority of them had wives of their own, and they knew not to cross that line.

The rest of the meeting went as usual. They discussed trivial little things. Land disputes, trades, and just boring nonsense. After the meeting was dismissed, they all made their way towards their ships. Everyone wished Hiccup good luck on his mission as they left, most of them genuinely meaning it, and some of them out of obligation.

"You know Astrid is going to kill you when she finds out right?" Snotlout said as they made their way out of the entrance. "She got pissed at you for trying to leave her behind on the ship. You think she's going to let you go to a whole different part of the world?"

Hiccup cleared his throat. "I'm sure once I explain the situation to her she'll be understanding. Besides. I'm the chief of the tribe, and I made a call. She's just going to have to respect that." He said trying to look confident. Both Snotlout and Fishlegs shared a glance. "But… don't tell her I said that last part."

"Course not chief." Fishlegs said trying to hide his amusement.

* * *

Hiccup smiled nervous towards his fiancé. Astrid looked down at him, arms crossed, and eyes narrowed. "So let me get this straight. In the heat of the moment, you volunteered to go on a diplomatic mission to a foreign land, one which we're not even sure we can trust, and it never crossed your mind that I'd have a problem with that?"

"Astrid, like I said, it just happened. I mean, I saw an opportunity and I jumped. What was I supposed to do? Say 'Oh, let me go ask if my wife will be cool with me going first'?"

Valka shook her head and chuckled. "Something told me this exact thing would happen. I just couldn't imagine a decision like this getting passed without YOU being the one to go."

Astrid sighed and rubbed her temples. "You know she's right. I figured this would happen. But the fact that I knew doesn't make it any less stressful. When are we supposed to be leaving?" She asked.

"We?"

Astrid glared at him again. "Wait, were you planning on going by yourself?" She asked dangerously.

Yes. "No, no. Of course not." He said holding his hands up. "It's just… I think you're more needed here is all." He knew it was kind of hypocritical to be worried about her going deep into unknown territory when he'd just literally volunteered to do it, but he was.

"Hiccup, you are NOT going alone."

"I know! I know!" Hiccup said. "It's just that mom can't leave. With me gone, she's the only one who they could go to for any dragon related issues. And you have the school to teach. The kids and the baby dragons need you there watching over them. We can't leave them to the twins."

Astrid knew exactly what he was doing. So did Valka. But he did have a point. The kids were in a very important part of both their dragon and warrior training. The twins did well enough with the dragon side of things, but warrior wise they were not teachers. Their idea of teaching was handing them weapons and saying 'go at it'.

"So, who you going to take with you then?" Astrid asked expectantly.

Hiccup froze for a moment. "Uh… Snotlout."

Snotlout, who'd been off to the side taking a gulp of ale did a spit take. "I'm sorry! Who? For a second I thought you said Snotlout? But I must have been hearing things!" Astrid said in disbelief. "You want to bring him on a diplomatic mission?! Are you serious?!"

"Uh… yeah." Hiccup said. "He's my second in command. Next in line to lead the tribe. He carries a fair amount of political weight. His responsibilities could be split up between the two of you and Legs. Plus, you guys think I should have somewhere there to watch my back. He's also a skilled warrior, so if things get messy then we can fight our way out."

Snotlout was the next to speak up. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! You said I was one of the worst political negotiators you've ever seen! And you were right!" Snotlout said. "Take Fishlegs, he can fight… well enough… somewhat…" They all kept staring at him.

While Fishlegs was probably the greatest choice aside from Hiccup as a diplomat, he was no warrior. If it came down to a fight he could hold his own, but he lacked a certain instinct. An instinct Hiccup and the twins had managed to gain through training, and one which Astrid and Snotlout had seemed to be born with. "Gah, fine!"

"See, I got Snotlout watching my back I'll be fi… fine. I'm sorry it was just really funny finishing that sentence." He said shaking his head. It wasn't as if he couldn't rely on his cousin, they had plenty of times before, but they typically weren't each other's first options.

Astrid groaned. "You two are dead." She said running her hand over her face. "Why Hiccup? Seriously, why? Why do you always have to be the one to do dangerous things? Why do you always need to put your own neck on the line! There's DOZENS of other people we could send in your place! So why you?!"

Hiccup looked a bit taken aback by the outburst. He would have made a witty comeback, but he could tell from that stressed look on her face that this was serious. "Because someone has to Astrid." He said. "I don't want to send someone else to do it. I don't want to put someone else in danger. I'm the chief. I'm supposed to protect the tribe. That's what I'm doing."

Astrid opened her mouth to respond, but then sighed and shook her head. She turned and walked out, leaving the others in the great hall. There was an awkward silence hanging in the air.

"Someone's in the dragon keep…" Snotlout muttered.

* * *

Hiccup had sent a Terrible Terror to the ship with a message of acceptance, and the next day he and Snotlout were ready to ship out. They'd send a smaller boat towards the island to pick them up and bring them back to the main ship, but Hiccup had insisted they could just fly there since their dragons wouldn't fit.

The whole village had come to see them off. Everyone was at the docks as Hiccup gave some last minute instructions to Fishlegs and Gobber. His mother obviously didn't mean any advice on dragons, and Astrid was… he didn't think she was in a talking mood right now.

"On behalf of my country, I'm honored you've accepted our invitation Mr. Haddock." Ned said.

"Well, I'm not one to turn down any offer for peace." Hiccup said smiling. "And the chocolate really helped to win me over. Seriously delicious stuff."

Ned chuckled. "I'll get a few crates full together for you to bring back here. I suppose I'll head back to the ship now, since you're flying and all. Wouldn't want the others trying to shoot you own again. Their good men, but those bastards get a little trigger happy sometimes."

Hiccup waved him off. "Aw, we're Vikings. We're born trigger happy."

Ned laughed again before heading back to his boat. Hiccup looked back towards everyone and waved. "We'll be back in a bit everyone!"

"Try not to burn the place down while we're gone!" Snotlout shouted.

There was laughter at that comment. "Like you're one to talk!" Someone shouted back.

Hiccup looked towards Astrid, who was walking towards him. As mad as she was, Hiccup was still her fiancé, and she wasn't just going to let him leave without saying anything to him. "So, it's time for you to go huh?"

"Astrid, I know you don't want me to do this, it's a just diplomatic mission. In all likeliness it's not going to come to a fight. I got a gut feeling these people really do want to make peace." He said walking up to her. He grabbed her hand. "You might not trust them, but trust me. I'll be fine. Back without a hair on my head out of place, and ready to wed."

The blonde kept staring at him. She really wished she could talk him out of this. She didn't know whether these people wanted peace or not, but she couldn't help but feel something… something bad was going to happen. But the way she was looking at her right now. That look that he was determined to do something stupid and crazy.

"Not a hair out of place." She warned. "I mean it. Not a single strand. And Odin help you if you end up late for the wedding."

"Viking's Honor." He said raising his hand.

She rolled her eyes. "Right, because we both know you hold that in such high regards." She said before walking over to Toothless. "You make sure you bring my husband home safe and sound Toothless. We both know how much trouble he gets in to, so I'm counting on you to watch his back." She said rubbing his snout.

The black dragon gave out a groan and nodded dutifully. Valka walked over to Hiccup and kissed his forehead. "You come back safe son. And you just be on your best behavior down there. Remember, you're the example for the rest of us."

"I know mom." Hiccup said hugging her. "I'll be back soon. Promise."

He mounted Toothless, and Snotlout jumped onto Hookfang. They gave one last wave to the tribe before taking off into the air. The two flew towards the ship, the rest of the tribe watching and waving them off. Astrid looked up at them sadly. She knew she shouldn't be worried about this. Hiccup had done much more dangerous things. This was kind of silly really.

But she was. She couldn't explain why. Maybe because this was so much different than what they usually dealt with. Maybe because she wouldn't be there to watch his back this time. "I know exactly how you feel dear. Having a reckless husband who's always doing dangerous and sometimes downright stupid things can be taxing." Valka said.

Astrid looked towards the older woman. She'd kind of found a mother figure in Valka since she'd came back to the tribe. She was strong, a warrior, a master of dragons. Most female Vikings saw her as a role model to be honest. But for Astrid there was something else there as well. She was the only other woman on the island who knew how to deal with a Haddock male.

The only women on the island who knew what it was like to be married to a chief. Valka likewise saw her as a daughter figure. Someone who'd been in a similar situation as her, and who clearly cared deeply for her son. "How do you get over it?" Astrid asked.

Valka laughed. "Sweetie, you never get over it. He's fiancé. Soon to be husband. You love him don't you?" She asked.

"O-of course I do." Astrid said blushing.

"Then you're perfectly allowed to worry. I worried about Stoick all the time. I always knew whenever he'd left, he'd make it back. He always did. But I still always worried. Hiccup has a Nightfury with him and I still worry. We can't stop worrying for the people we care about. We can only learn how to deal with that worry."

The blonde nodded. That made sense. Now that she thought about it, there really wasn't any way she could see herself not worrying for Hiccup or her friends. That would basically be not caring. "So how do you deal with this?" Astrid asked.

"By having faith." Valka said simply. "Believe that he'll be able to handle himself and come back to you. That's really all you can do."

Believe that he'll come back. That he'd come back to her. "I can do that."

* * *

A hooded figure sat in the middle of the forest, sharpening a dagger. She looked annoyed. Very annoyed. The old hag had gone out of her way to summon her here. She could have at least come on time. "Stupid ole witch…" She muttered.

Suddenly, a crow flew down and crashed into the tree beside her before falling to the ground. She sighed and then looked down towards the bird. "Why hello there stupid. Ah assume this means the old could nae make it?" She asked.

The bird jumped up to its feet and looked towards her. It was carrying something in its mouth. It looked like it was some kind of bottle. She reached down and plucked it from its mouth. She hated then she got messages like this. What was wrong with just writing something down? She threw the bottle against the ground, where it broke.

The gaseous contents of the bottle spilled out and rose into the air. It formed a small cloud in front of her, and an old woman's face appeared within the smoke. "Hello there dearie." The woman greeted with a toothy smile. "Ah'm sorry ah could nae make it, but ah needed to deliver a message to ye as soon as possible."

"Ah've seen some very dangerous things in the future. Some events tha will lead to disastrous results are beginning to unfold. Normally ah wouldn't bother ye with this since it's ah bit of a trip from here. But ah've never sensed danger this strong before. Yer intervention, as well as others, will be necessary to keep this threat at bay."

She raised an eyebrow. Others? Was the old woman serious? She'd never had to work with others before. She'd always been able to handle any threats by herself. Working with others was never her strong suit. And did she say out of her way? Where in the world was she talking about? She had access to all of Europe.

"Pack yer bags dearie. Yer headed fer the states."

The hooded woman smiled. "Now things are sounded interestin'. What am ah doin'?"

"Believe me dearie. Ye'll know when ye get there." It was always creepy how these messages had always answered her questions. Sometimes she wondered if she was talking directly to her and the witch was just pretending to be a recording. "Just follow the trouble. It's what ye do best."

She scowled as the last comment, and the cloud suddenly dispersed. "Well then. Ah suppose ah'll jist have to wing it." She said jumping up. She pulled out a bow. "Still, sounds fun."

* * *

 **A/N: Alright! Got out chapter 2! Hope you guys liked it. I had writers block for a long time. I've been having it for a lot of my stories lately. But I'm working through it, one chapter at a time.**

 **So, Hiccup is on his way to the USA, along with Snotlout. I only wanted two of them to go, not the whole group. Otherwise that could just lead to one big mess. So I just went with Snotlout since I like him better than Fishlegs.**

 **I'm sure most of you can guess who the woman at the end was. Things are will start kicking off next chapter. So remember to leave a review and tell me what you think. I really wanna hear some feedback from you guys!  
**


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